Will do a full top 20 albums in due course, but I've still got a lot of stuff to listen to.

So some of the smaller-scale, just for fun type stuff first, starting with biggest disappointments, not really in order:

Opeth - Heritage
Was totally on board with the idea of this album, I just think the execution of that idea was a failure. The album is just too dull, and to be honest, hasn't really achieved the '70s sound they wanted to achieve. It's like someone took Opeth's sound and said "what would happen if we just didn't growl, but played exactly the same way as normal with a different, less-heavy guitar tone". This is what would happen.

Cathedral's Final Ever Performance
Scheduled for December 3 at The Forum in London, and had been on the calendar for a good six months or more. After the 20th Anniversary show in 2010, where they had no support and played two full sets, including a one-time reunion of the original line-up, playing the debut album front to back for the first time ever, I was expecting something equally special for their farewell. Instead, three (count 'em) support bands playing just half an hour each, one of which was completely-mismatched '70s prog band Cressida, then a ordinary 95-minute Cathedral set with no special songs (they've got 40+ songs they've never played live that they could have debuted), none of the new songs off the forthcoming final album, no guests.

Additionally, the event shirts didn't have the date on them, the new 12" single was a ridiculous £13, and the opening band were on so quickly after the doors opened, most people didn't get into the venue in time to see them.

On top of all that they changed the designationo of the event (but not on the merchandise) to "Cathedral's Final Northern Hemisphere Performance", so they they could go and play their actual final ever shows on the Soundwave tour in Australia in January 2012.